A conventional communications network may employ a voice mail system which allows a caller to leave a voice mail for an intended recipient. For example, if the recipient is not available to take a call, the call is forwarded to a voice mailbox for the recipient which stores the voice mail left by the caller. The recipient then receives some indication that the voice mail is stored and accesses the voice mail system to retrieve the voice mail. To retrieve the voice mail, the recipient is typically required to dial into the voice mail system and provide a unique authentication code. After an authentication procedure (i.e., matching the authentication code to the voice mailbox), the recipient is provided access to the voice mailbox and may listen to the voice mail, as well as any other voice mails stored in the voice mailbox (e.g., previously listened to voice mails that were saved by the recipient). Requiring the recipient to dial into the voice mail system and enter the authentication code may take a significant amount of time.